Library filed under Noise

The Ruhwarders are protesting against the wind farm. They know that it is long past due to protest but hope that the situation can at least be improved. Ruhwarder citizens believe theor lives have been degraded since the new wind farm in Düke was placed in service. The operator is open to discussions - and promises to improve.

“The wind noise rule as… approved is not going to protect Vermonters from the harm that we have already experienced from industrial wind turbines,” said Annette Smith, head of the group Vermonters for a Clean Environment and a longtime critic of industrial wind projects. “It is a step in the right direction.”

Hawkesdale farmer Paul Lewis says noise from Macarthur wind farm, five kilometres from his home, wakes him up at night. ...“No one can do anything to really address the problems with existing wind farms. Moyne (shire council) have wiped their hands of it and don’t take responsibility, and the State Government isn’t doing anything,” Mr Lewis said.

Pat Spence says she has been forced to sleep in her car after 180 turbines were built; 'They've turned the place I wanted to spend the rest of my life in into a prison with its own encapsulated torture chamber.'

This important decision by US District Court Judge Thomas L. Ludington addresses two arguments proffered by the wind industry. The first relates to the industry's argument that noise standards for limiting turbine noise emissions that are based on Lmax are not reasonable. The second discusses the argument that restricitve ordinances, in this case an Lmax noise limit, are de facto exclusionay zoning. Judge Ludington takes both claims on and finds the wind company's arguments are without merit. A portion of the decision is provided below. The full decision can be downloaded from this page.

This new report examines how locations where industrial wind turbines were erected near residences experienced measurable upticks in suicide. The researcher identifies three indirect tests of the role of low-frequency noise exposure including those most vulnerable to the noise, prevailing wind direction and potental of greater noise impacts, and turbine noise resulting in sleep deficiency. The abstract and conclusion of the paper are provided below. The full report can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.

MONTPELIER — The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules accepted sound standards crafted by the Public Utilities Commission for wind turbines by a 5-2 vote. This rule-making initiative is a requirement of 2016’s Act 174 energy siting policy.

In approving stricter sound limits for ridgeline wind turbines Thursday afternoon, the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules has managed to upset both sides on the wind energy debate. The proposed sound standards have been in the works for more than a year, and they long ago set off a war of words between the various factions in the wind energy debate.

A group opposing wind turbines in Vermont has taken what its organizers say is an unprecedented step by filing a public records request with several legislators who are reviewing new sound limits for future wind-energy projects. Two of the legislators have already turned over all the requested documents. Six have not.

David Dardi, who lives near the turbine and who had been keeping track of the turbine noise, said the turbine continued to “disrupt the sleep and adversely impact the lives and health of both my neighbors and myself.” ...Selectman Karen Canfield said she would support to curtail the use of the turbine from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the summer.

The rule proposed by the Public Utility Commission sets a 42-decibel limit for wind turbines during the day, when measured 100 feet from the outside of neighboring homes, and a 39-decibel limit at night. The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules chose to extend the deadline for a vote on the rule.

The committee’s charge is rather to ask a fairly narrow set of questions about a rule, Benning said, including whether it meets the intent of the legislation that enabled it, whether the rule is arbitrary, and whether its potential economic effects are adequately described.
Benning said he’s satisfied the rule meets all these criteria.

Residents in Scituate who live near a wind turbine claim it's ruining the quality of their lives. Many say the wind turbine is causing nausea, dizziness, ringing in ears and sleep deprivation and they want it shut down for good.

Acting Town Administrator Al Bangert said they agreed to shut down the turbine during the hours of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. when the wind blows from the southwest. ...Officials said since then, complaints have dropped more than 60 percent. But there has been a financial cost as well. Bangert is forecasting a financial loss of more than $100,000 per year whenever the blades power down.

FINLAND. Aunio Group Oy from Oulu has developed a device for measuring and recording infrasound produced by wind turbines. The measurement equipment can be used to produce research data for investigating the characteristics of infrasound and where it spreads, and to analyze any health problems it may cause. The infrasound produced by wind turbines differs from infra-sounds occurring in nature; according to measurements the infrasound produced by wind turbines is a clear signal - distinguishable from ambient noise in the environment. This paper describes the method of evaluating the Anuio Group's device and the results. The full paper can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.

In 2015, the town conducted a study and found that complaints from residents were most common during the summer between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., when the wind was less than 10 mph and blowing in a southwest direction. During the last two summers, between June and October, the town has shut down the turbine when those conditions are met.

It has been revealed that a wind turbine which has caused years of "anguish and distress" for residents in Castlewellan has breached required noise limits at a nearby residential property. ...A major factor that has been troubling residents in the area since the turbine was erected is the noise emitted.

Now with a slew of new wind farms planned around his town of Hawkesdale, 300km west of Melbourne, and impending changes to Victorian state planning policy, Mr Lewis is seriously pondering his future. “Everyone thinks these things are great, but they’re not the ones living beside them and getting woken up at night,” he said.

Residents of Savoy have the opportunity to save themselves from this same peril (most likely worse, with five much larger turbines), during the upcoming turbine hearing on Sept. 24. One hearing. One night. Make the right decision.

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